Today’s classic song of the day is “Clean Up Woman” by Betty Wright. This funky little tune debuted in November 1971 and rose to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #2 on Billboard’s R&B chart) early the following year.
“Clean Up Woman” was written and produced by the team of Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke for Alston Records. Together and separately these two wrote and arranged songs for acts such as Sam & Dave and KC & the Sunshine Band.
This single is notable for its layered instrumental backing tracks, somewhat common on R&B and funk tunes of the early ’70s. (I wrote about a similar instrumental layering on an earlier classic song of the day, Tyrone Davis’ “Can I Change My Mind.”) In this instance, it’s all about the guitars—three of them, as a matter of fact, all performed by Willie “Little Beaver” Hale on multiple tracks. The first guitar part is a choppy syncopated chording between F (in three different fingerings) and Bb6. The second guitar part is a slightly lower, snaky single melodic line. The third guitar part is a choppy syncopated double stop thing, mixed lower than the first two parts, that fills in the end of each measure. (The following video does a better job of explaining it than I can do in words.) All three parts fit together with an equally complex bass part to create a seamless, funkified whole. It is very cool and very sophisticated arranging. Listen closely and see if you can tell all the parts apart!
Betty Wright was born in 1953 and started singing with her family gospel group when she was just two years old. She signed her first recording contract (with Deep City Records) when she was 12 and released a couple of singles that hit locally in a few cities across the country. When she recorded and released “Clean Up Woman,” she was just 17 years old, which is something. She had a few follow-on hits, including “Baby Sitter,” “Secretary,” and “Let Me Be Your Lovemaker,” but that was about it for mainstream success. She continued performing and recording into the 1990s, then moved primarily into producing for acts like Tom Jones and Diane Birch. She passed away in 2020, aged 66, from cancer.
And here’s an extra treat for you, 18 year-old Betty Wright performing “Clean Up Woman” live on The Mike Douglas Show in 1972. Just try to keep from dancing along!
